[Dinner] BRIDGE Restaurant & Bar @ Seah Street

It definitely wasn’t love at first sight at BRIDGE. I was here for a food-tasting session for the launch of their dinner set menu and by the end of the night, I was sold. Completely sold. Lawrence (pictured with his wife above), banker-turned-restauranteur, took time to sit down with us for the entire dinner session and he brought us through the story behind BRIDGE, down to the minute details of every dish served here. I learnt so much within a night – from how he sources each ingredient to find the best suppliers for the best prices, to understanding what it takes to find the best location to realise his dream. I would say that his proposition is an extremely strong one, as BRIDGE is your answer to seriously good food and fine-dining, at a fraction of the usual price. In order to achieve that, Lawrence goes the extra mile to ensure premium ingredients like fresh truffles and lobsters are directly imported to ensure top-grade quality, while passing on the cost savings to you!

P.S.: I was so in love with their lobsters that I came back for brunch in the same week to try out their Lobster Croissant, which I’ll be sharing in my next post.
Bar area.
It’s hard to believe that Lawrence did the entire interior decor himself!
Fresh, warm bread to start off the night. What’s interesting here is the homemade Truffle Honey Butter, which I really love. Instead of being salty, this was laced with sweetness from the honey and left an aftertaste of truffle. The butter went so well with the bread that I wiped out the entire plate despite a full repertoire ahead.

Just a brief introduction of the dinner menu, BRIDGE offers 3 appetizers, 5 mains and 2 dessert dishes. You may order them as ala-carte dishes, otherwise a 4-course dinner set is priced at $55++, with additional charges for lobster and wagyu dishes. Do note that the dishes I am reviewing below are tasting portions and are not representative of the original portion! Yes, portions here are huge (unlike chi-chi fine-dining places), which also means more value for your money! 😀
Appetiser: Heirloom Tomato Mozzarella [Eight species of tomatoes, caviaroli, mozzarella, tomato powder, olive powder, kalamata emulsion] ($16) – I was wow-ed by this piece of edible art. Helmed by Head Chef Sky Chan and his team of four, he was formerly the Junior Sous Chef at Jöel Robuchon, Corner House and JAAN. This dish reminded me of JAAN and it was obvious that the chef brought his skills over to BRIDGE. From the detailed plating to the use of molecular gastronomy, this dish would have easily cost double its price elsewhere. You’ll find many surprises in this dish – one being the olive oil caviar that bursts in your mouth, bringing back memories of my Spain gastronomic trip. I found the tomato powder really interesting too, where tomatoes are given an entirely new texture. My only gripe is that the tomatoes had textures that were too similar despite being different species. It would have been great if some were crunchier or more tart.

Appetiser: Foie Gras [Pan-seared foie gras, candied hazelnut, balsamic reduction, citrus] ($18) – Foie gras for $18? And mind you, the original portion of the dish is twice the size of the pictured. This was indeed heaven on earth. The goose liver was perfectly seared – tender and caramelised on the crust. Moreover, with an unexpected pairing of orange puree, your tongue will be tickled further. Those nuts and biscuits were a bonus! If not for cholestrol, I would have requested for multiple servings of this!
Strictly live Boston lobsters at BRIDGE!
Main: Boston Lobster (Whole) [56 degree sous vide lobster with kombu couscous, squid ink foam, squid, extra virgin olive oil] ($48) – Again, just a reminder that this is half a lobster for tasting portion! I cannot emphasise enough the value that BRIDGE provides! As you may know, Pince & Pints have revised their prices, so I guess I know where to head to whenever I need my lobster fix. 😉 Using the sous vide method of cooking the lobster before hitting the hot pan for a moment, the lobster was one of the most tender and moist ones I’ve had. The couscous underneath is combined together with finely-diced squid, which really, is a genius idea in itself. A must-try here!
Main: Blue Cod ​[Crispy scaled wild caught NZ blue cod, savoy cabbage, spanish seaweed, yuzu bouillon] ($29) – The only time I had fish with scales was at a 2 Michelin-Star restaurant In Spain! Seeing this back here at BRIDGE is evident that they take their level of fine-dining as serious as… a 2 Michelin-Star restaurant. As you may already know, not all fish scales are edible and at BRIDGE, they use blue cod – a species more rare than black cod. Lawrence was sharing that many fish suppliers in Singapore don’t supply blue cod and it took him 2 months to actually find the source for it! Its texture is slightly different from the smooth, tender black cod. With a firmer texture and a more compact meat, the blue cod is one-of-a-kind. It’s a joy listening to the crackling of the crispy fish scales as I sliced through the fish. The fish scales tasted finer than a prawn cracker and were surprisingly light. The yuzu caviar added a pleasurable kick to the palate too. Fish lovers will definitely enjoy this.
Main: Truffle Chicken [Organic-fed chicken breast, earl grey barley, sabaco, eryngii mushrooms, natural jus] ($26) – Chicken breast is used for this dish but I promise you, the texture was similar to chicken thigh (I order drumsticks only). You may say it’s thanks to the sous-vide method that this is achieved, but I’d say it’s thanks to the chef’s ingenious skills. I’ve had sous-vide chicken at Bochinche previously and chicken breast still tasted like chicken breast. Despite devouring 4 courses before this, I wiped out this one out almost immediately. 😉 The barley accompanying it was soaked in TWG earl grey tea (just because TWG tea leaves produce the best aftertaste in creating this side), hence you can imagine how fragrant this is! Not to forget, the precious truffle shavings were so generous. Deliciouso!
Dessert: Deconstructed Cheesecake [Homemade raspberry jam, passionfruit puree, parfait, lemon cream cheese foam] ($14) – This is one dish where expectation and reality are worlds apart. Don’t get me wrong though – the comment was not on its taste! In my mind, deconstructed cheese cake is morsels of dense cheesecake… but it turned out to be cheese foam that encapsulates the essence of a ‘cheesecake dish’! Mind blown. A frozen core revealed a shortbread caramel ice cream that was a total delight when accompanied by the foamy cheese and more edible flowers and fruits!

It was a wonderful dinner at BRIDGE and I couldn’t stop raving about it to everyone around me. It is the answer to affordable fine-dining and most importantly, without any fluff. In Lawrence’s words, BRIDGE fills the gap and it’s not trying to replace them (fine-dining restaurants). And, I entirely agree with him.